


New Year, New Us

by Miyotesse



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, alcohol mention, kinda spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 18:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13370319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyotesse/pseuds/Miyotesse
Summary: Marinette begins to have conflicting feelings while at a New Year party. Solace comes from the most unlikely of sources.





	New Year, New Us

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is about 2 weeks late because computers are made of fail. Mine specifically. Anyway, here it is!

                “Three… Two… One… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” the class counted, a huge cheer going up as fireworks began to go off above the Arc de Triumphe. Everyone gathered around and began kissing one another on the cheek. Marinette smiled as she embraced Nino, Juleka, Alya, Alix and Max before turning eagerly to Adrien… whose lips were firmly settled upon Kagami’s. The two had been dating for a short while now, an arrangement between their parents as Adrien had told her, and she was fine with it, she was definitely, totally, absolutely definitely fine with the idea of it not being real but seeing him kissing her and her kissing him and seeing their hands slowly slide along one another and “I think I need a moment,” the girl managed, pushing away from the crowd a little, slipping around a corner to lean against the bricks, hand clasped against her mouth.

                _Stop it stop it stop it Marinette! You don’t want to cry! You don’t want to start your new year like this!!_ she chided herself as her hand moved up to her eyes, gasping in quick, frantic pops of air as her heart slammed against her chest. It took her a few moments to regain her composure, blinking back the tears in the corners of her eyes before straightening herself up and brushing herself down. She turned to walk back towards the crowd, and almost walked straight into Chloe.

                “Gaaah!” Marinette exclaimed, arms flailing like a madwoman.

                “Charming. Do you do this bizarre monkey routine with everyone you greet?” Chloe remarked, arching an eyebrow with a little smirk.

                “Hmph! Only to people who jump out and scare me!”

                “Well if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle unfashionable,” the girl retorted, gesturing up and down at Marinette.

                “What evil little thing do you **want** , Chloe?” Marinette replied through gritted teeth. The girl huffed, crossing her arms firmly over her chest.

                “You always assume the worst of me, you know. Even though I have proven to you that I am trying to be a better person now, you still think I’m just… just the bratty mayor’s daughter. I’ve changed, I’m still changing,” Chloe replied, looking a little hurt. Marinette rubbed her temples, and let out a weary sigh. “Besides, we’re adults now, and I at least am trying to leave that pettiness behind me. As it happens, I saw you run over here like someone had just slapped you in the face, and I wanted to know why,” she went on.

                “Because you were… concerned about me?” Marinette asked. Chloe glanced to one side, fingernail casually scratching at the side of her cheek.

                “I’d be lying if I said that were the only reason, I do thrive on drama, you know,” the girl said with an uneasy expression. Marinette was the one to let out a huff this time.

                “I appreciate the honesty if nothing else… Please, just… leave me alone, I’m not having a good night,” she said.

                “Not having a good night? Marinette, it’s New Year! Time to change, time to make the improvements you want. A fresh slate and a clean start. Whatever’s bothering you go out there and make it right!” Chloe replied, hands balled up into fists as she spoke. Marinette regarded her for a moment, her expression softening a little.

                “Thank you? I think… but, it’s not that simple. The thing that bothers me… shouldn’t bother me, it doesn’t bother me… only… it does. It really does…” she said, her breath catching in her throat again.

                “Oh… ohhhh, this is about Adrikins isn’t it? Are you upset that he sees you as a friend, but he sees her as a-” Chloe began, but stopped as Marinette shoulder checked her.

                “Move,” the dark haired girl practically snarled. She glared darkly into the girl’s eyes.

                “I will. But you have to do something for me first,” Chloe replied.

                “What?”

                “Faire le bise,” Chloe said, her confidence fading for a fraction of a moment. Marinette’s eyebrow arched as her anger fizzled away, taking a step back. And another. She took a moment to look at Chloe, to really look at her, to see a girl putting herself in a position of vulnerability, for… what? To mend a bridge? Perhaps. To gain something, almost undoubtedly. But she couldn’t figure out what her reasoning was. Chloe’s lips curled into a light smirk under scrutiny, the mask once slipped now replaced.

                “It is tradition, and our last time was pretty disastrous,” she said with a hollow chuckle. Marinette nodded her head grimly, and shifted to be stood directly in front of the girl. She leaned forwards as Chloe did the same, and the girl’s lips touched one another on the cheek. The pulled back, and repeated the gesture on the other cheek. As Marinette pulled back again, she found that she had to actively tell herself not to lean forwards again to go in for a third.

                “Happy New Year, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

                “Happy New Year… Chloe Bourgeois,” Marinette replied. Chloe stood aside, gesturing for Marinette to walk into the crowd.

 

                The party continued and Marinette returned to her little group, smiling, laughing and drinking along with them, but her heart was not in it. She kept glancing over at Kagami and Adrien, seeing them share lingering glances and soft touches that made her heart twist in ways she never thought it could. It could have been her. It should have been her. Her expression began to grow sour as she glared up at them, when a shrill buzzing went off nearby. Alya glanced at her phone, and her expression exploded into one of glee.

                “Mari! There’s this insane dance party happening a few blocks over we have to go to it come on!” she exclaimed, pulling the girl aside without warning. Marinette protested and whined, but did not resist as Alya escorted her to an outdoor dancing area full of neon lights and music so loud she heard it not through her ears but through her feet. To her dismay, the group had largely followed them, including Adrien and Kagami. She was keen to dance, but the thought of those two being here made her mood begin to slip once again.

                “Forget about him. Come dance with me, and forget about the world,” a voice whispered in her ear. She barely had time to speak, let alone turn to see the speaker, before she was dragged onto the floor, and the music took over. Marinette swayed her hips and arms in time to the music, feeling her unseen partner shake and bump against her, hands kept respectfully on her hips or shoulder. Marinette found herself closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling of someone else taking charge. She was spun and held, dipped and lifted, all in time to the thumping tunes, until the song ended with a crescendo and a cheer from everyone present. Marinette opened her eyes, her chest raising and falling, to see an equally out of breath Chloe stood beside her, holding her hand. The blonde smiled weakly, and Marinette grinned along with her, collapsing against her as she began to giggle. Chloe also broke down into a fit of laughter, and the two girls quickly vacated the dance area to sit somewhere nearby.

                “Oh my god that was amazing! Since when were you a dancer?” Marinette exclaimed, as she dropped onto the bench.

                “Uh, excuse you; I happen to be taught by three of the finest coaches in Paris! But talking of amazing, since when were you so toned? There is not an inch of fat on you! I almost feel inclined to call you a bitch for that, it’s positively criminal for a baker’s daughter to be so svelt!” Chloe replied, and Marinette let out a cackle of a laugh.

                “It’s the lack of sleep that really does wonders to my figure. That or all the re-tests, those things are like anti-food,” she said.

                “Well, you certainly are doing something right, god, I am so jealous right now, how can you have such a firm body **and** a great pair of boobs. Was it magic? Did you sell your soul to Hawkmoth to get a killer bod?” Chloe asked, and Marinette found herself giggling along to the girl’s questioning, her cheeks beginning to heat up a little.

                “Come on Chloe, it’s not that great,” she replied dismissively.

                “Uh, yes it is. Trust me, I would know,” Chloe said, taking a sip of her drink.

                “And why is that, exactly?” Marinette asked. Chloe blew bubbles in her drink, before pulling back, coughing feebly.

                “W-well, because I also happen to have a fabulous body, and I can appreciate a similar work of art when I see one,” she said, after recovering from her accident. Marinette nodded, deciding not to press the matter. The girls rested and continued to chat for a little bit, until Marinette caught glimpse of Adrien and Kagami again, this time arms linked together.

                “Look at me, not them!” Chloe snapped angrily all of a sudden. This made Marinette’s attention twitch across to her, looking her up and down in all her controlled fury. “He doesn’t deserve you! I’m so sick of seeing you like this about him!” she went on, as Marinette blinked.

                “Chloe…” she mumbled, her head a little fuzzy. _Was there something other than alcohol in this drink? Could be._

                “Just stop it Marinette! Stop making your life about him and look somewhere else…”

                “But where?” _Was this a dream? Probably not, dreams wouldn’t be this cold…_

                “Anywhere! Literally anywhere but at the ankles of Adrien Agreste as he walks ahead of you!”

                “It’s hard.” _She sounded mad. Maybe I should look at her._

                “How hard could it be to look somewhere else? How hard c-could it be t-to look at… me?”

                “You’re beautiful,” Marinette said, tilting her eyes upward. She didn’t realise she had tears in them. She didn’t know why she said that. She barely noticed Chloe gasp, her hands pulling up to her mouth in surprise, and she definitely wasn’t aware of how much she was relying on the girls grip to stay upright. Marinette fell from the bench, her head narrowly avoiding a sharp smack against the kerb.

 

                Her shoulder was not as lucky though, as she landed on it, and was sure she heard something crack. Her mind flooded with pain, but it was a sharp, crystallising feeling, bringing her world of fuzziness back into sharp focus. She saw Chloe kneeling above her, eyes streaked with tears and fear on her face. Alya stormed over to them, face like thunder.

                “What the hell did you do Bourgeois?” she snarled, grabbing the sobbing Chloe by the scruff of the neck.

                “I, I, I didn’t do anything!” Chloe stammered, her eyes flitting between the stricken Marinette and the angered Alya. The two girls began to bicker and argue, and a small crowd gathered around them.

                “Alya, stop!” Marinette snapped as she pulled herself onto her knees, and then her feet. “Chloe didn’t do anything to me. I think I did this to myself. I think… I think I drank something bad. Chloe was keeping me from puking, I think… I didn’t do that, did I?” she asked, glancing over at Chloe, who shook her head firmly.

                “Oh, I… I didn’t… I’m sorry, Chloe. I guess I just kinda assumed the worst,” Alya said, hanging her head.

                “Don’t worry, I’m used to people expecting me to be bad. It usually comes as a shock when they find out I’m not,” she said, just a hint of sourness. Alya apologised again, and along with Chloe, brought Marinette to one of the little first aid tents that had been set up through the streets. A quick test found that her arm was not broken, and that her wooziness was caused by a combination of not eating enough that day, and not sleeping enough for a few days.

                “Sorry. I’ve completely ruined tonight, haven’t I?” Marinette lamented, as her shoulder was being bound by a young nurse with a green streak in her hair. Marinette found herself blushing as the nurse worked, every time the bandage passed over her chest the blush intensified.

                “No you didn’t girl! You’ve been working like crazy lately,” Alya said, holding up the girl’s sweater for the nurse. Chloe stood a little way off, averting her eyes, clutching a steaming mug and a small paper bag.

                “I have to tell her how sorry I am…” Marinette mumbled, glancing over at Chloe.

                “I think it’ll be OK,” Alya said softly, as the nurse nodded to signify that she was finished. Alya began to lower Marinette’s top, a little smile on her face. “Why don’t you go ask her to help you home. You need the sleep, I can explain to everyone what happened,” she said.

                “Y-yeah, I should… I should go home…” Marinette said, struggling between the wooziness and the pain.

 

                “Here,” Chloe said, thrusting the bag and the paper mug towards Marinette as she approached.

                “Hmm?”

                “Plain biscotti and a hot chocolate. No caffeine this late, but you need some energy,” Chloe said gruffly. Marinette took them with a little nod, taking a sip from the drink. “They’re not quite Dupain-Cheng levels of quality, but they’ll do,” Chloe said, moving to walk away.

                “Um! C-Chloe!” Marinette stammered, watching the girl walk past.

                “What?”

                “I, uh… I was going to… go home. I need to get some rest.”

                “Oh… well… it was an interesting night,” Chloe said, the mask shifting just a little. For the briefest moment, there was disappointment.

                “C-come back with me!” Marinette blurted suddenly. Chloe’s brow furrowed. “I mean, I mean, I mean, c-could you, possibly, walk me home? It’s not far, and, I would feel better being with you. I mean! I mean, with someone! I’d feel better if someone were there, with me, when I walk home, and… yeah… that,” she went on, arms darting this way and that. Chloe regarded her stoically save for a casual raise of her eyebrow.

                “You are a strange one, Marinette,”

                “Dupain-cheng,” the baker’s daughter went on, in a slightly mocking voice, expecting Chloe to say her full name. Chloe instead glared at her.

                “You know, I don’t have to ferry your sorry drunk carcass home, I have plenty of better things to do,” she said, turning to walk away from Marinette.

                “Nooooo, no no no no, I’m sorry, I’m sorriiii, I din’t mean anything by it, pleeeeease Chlo!” she pleaded, latching onto the girl’s arm. Chloe rolled her eyes with a huff, but a hint of a grin ran across her lips.

                “Alright, but only because seeing you acting like this gives me all sorts of material for whenever I need a favour from you.”

                “Pffft, what would the grrreat Chloe Bourgeois want from me?” Marinette said, rolling her r as she stumbled into step alongside the girl. The blonde sighed, and pulled her in closer, slowing her pace to allow the girl the chance to walk a little easier.

                “Hmph, if you must know, there is a gala event coming in March that I will need a bespoke gown for, and frankly Jean-Javier and Madam Clemente have been very derivative and out of originality lately. I figure you have as much as chance as they of making something that would catch my eye.”

                “Haaaaah, that’s a biiiig ask. Bigger than helpin’ me home.”

                “You would be compensated for your materials, handsomely, but… well, I figured you would not want to. So guilting you into accepting was my only option, until this came along,” Chloe said, reaching to catch Marinette as she stumbled on a paving slab.

                “T-thanks. I can do some designs, I actually already have something I think’ll look good on you. My floor! Teeheeheehahahaha!” Marinette said, devolving into a fit of giggles at a joke that there was a good chance even she did not understand. Chloe sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

                The walk back to the bakery was not all that long, and soon the two girls were stood in the little back alley that served as the back entrance when the shop was alarmed.

                “Well, got you home safe, get some sleep,” Chloe said, as Marinette fumbled with her keys.

                “Aren’t you gunna come in to tuck me in? Good night kiss?”

                “How many have you had? God, get inside you drunken idiot and suffer the consequences. I hope your parents make your life hell for this…” Chloe said, pushing the girl away as she tried to get closer, making kissy faces at her.

                “Nu-uuh, they’ll tell me off but they won’t punish me. I’m an angel,” Marinette said with a giggle, before leaning forwards over an open bin, and heaving angrily into it. Chloe watched on in mild disgust, as Marinette slumped to her knees.

                “Fallen angel, perhaps. Come on, let’s get your sorry butt in a condition to sleep at the very least…” Chloe remarked, grabbing the girl by the collar and dragging her inside. It was the work of a moment to get her up the stairs, but it was the work of a skilled and well versed artist to keep her silent while doing so. Chloe managed to get Marinette into the bathroom before she heaved again, this time into the toilet. Marinette let out a faint sob as she fell slowly to the floor.

                “Why’d he choose her?” she whined, clenching her eyes tightly.

                “Because she asked? Because they have a lot in common? Because they both hate their fathers and want to take over their respective businesses, and having strong allies in that endeavour will be beneficial? Who could possibly know?” Chloe said idly, working on pulling Marinette’s top off of her, while not aggravating her injury.

                “’s not fair… was gunna ask… eventually…” Marinette whimpered, feeling the prickle of tears in her eyes. She was struggling to keep everything together.

                “Maybe Adrien needs someone now, Marinette. Maybe we all need someone now…” Chloe said, her voice growing increasingly grim. The dark haired girl sobbed gently as she lay on the tiles, until the urge to puke rose once again, and she pulled herself up onto her knees, and managed to get her head to the bowl before Satan himself emerged from her.

                “Uuuugh, I am far too pretty to be on the care end of this…” Chloe lamented.

 

                “Brush,” Chloe demanded, thrusting a toothbrush towards Marinette. The two girls had remained in the bathroom for almost half an hour, until Marinette was mostly recovered. Chloe snuck downstairs while the girl brushed her teeth and went to her bedroom, and returned as Marinette was changing into her pyjamas. Chloe let out a little squeak as she rose into the girl’s room, head bobbing back down below the threshold with a whisper of an apology. She returned once Marinette was dressed, with a slice of bread and a small carton of orange juice.

                “Orange? After brushing my teeth, that’s it, you are trying to murder me…” Marinette said, without much enthusiasm.

                “If I wanted you to suffer I wouldn’t’ve made you brush. Your mouth is going to be like hell tomorrow, but at least now it won’t smell like it. You’ll also be craving a drink like you’ve never craved before, hence the juice, it’s good for you, gives you a boost of energy. The bread is for now. Eat it and you might just not puke again,” Chloe said, tossing both items to Marinette. The girl took a bite from the bread, and sat down beside the girl who had taken a seat on her lounger. They sat in silence as Marinette ate and Chloe flicked idly through her phone

                “Why’re you doing this, Chloe?”

                “Hmm?”

                “Why are you being so nice to me?”

                “Hmm… “ Chloe mused, glancing up from her phone, and out at the cloudy night sky. “Why **am** I helping you? Your presence used to irritate me. I hated seeing you, with your pretty eyes and your dumb little giggle. I wanted you gone. I don’t know if you remember this, but about three days after we first met, I left a note in your locker.”

                “Leave my school, you’re too pretty. That was you?”

                “Mmhm. You thought Kim left it as a prank, and ignored it.”

                “Why are you telling me all this?”

                “I have a point, just let me get to it. So, I hated you. But hate wasn’t the right word. You were my inverse; you were… everything I wasn’t. But… it’s been recent, and it’s… difficult to explain, but… I started to realise that it isn’t hate. I don’t know what it is, but… definitely not hate. So… that’s why, mostly. I want to get to know you, to figure out what you are to me. Rival? Friend? S-something else…” she mumbled, not daring to risk a glance at the girl. “Plus, I am genuinely trying to be a better person. I know I’ve been a bitch…” she added. Moments later, she felt a weight press against her, as Marinette stood behind her, arms slowly wrapping around the blonde.

                “I think… you’re my something else,” Marinette whispered softly. Chloe’s breath caught in her throat as the girl leaned her head against her. “I’ve been a bitch too. I should’ve given you more chance to prove yourself, instead I was just perpetuating your previous mindset. I’m sorry,” she whispered, holding Chloe close.

                “Marinette…”

                “I don’t know what we are. At all. I can go weeks without seeing Alya, I can spend time without Kim, or Alix, or Rose and Juleka, all without the day seeming different. But more than a few days without seeing you, and the world seems less interesting, blurry, out of focus. You…” Marinette began, gasping as Chloe suddenly shifted in her grip, hand coming up to cup her cheek. The blonde pulled Marinette into a firm, needy kiss, as her eyes widened in surprise. They quickly lowered once she had had a moment to realise what was going on, leaning gently against Chloe with a gentle whimper. They broke apart with a mutual gasp for air, hearts pounding as they gazed at one another. Marinette held herself back for all of three seconds before pushing Chloe down onto the lounger, straddling her as she leaned down to press her lips against the girl again. Chloe whimpered quietly, her hands grasping at the back of Marinette’s pyjama top before pulling her down. Marinette broke away from the kiss with a gasp, a wide grin on her face.

                “So this is why you had me brush,” she said with a giggle.

                “Oh, shut up!” Chloe snapped back, poking her tongue out at the girl.

 

                Marinette awoke with a jolt as a loud alarm began to blare. She squinted around until she saw the source, a bright yellow phone that she did not recognise in her sleepy state. She reached for it, and swiped the alarm, turning it off, before curling back into the bed.

                “Nnhhh,” a soft voice purred beside her, as an arm ran slowly across her stomach. Marinette slowly turned to the source of the cute noise.

                “Morning,” she whispered, before coughing softly. Her throat was dryer than the Sahara. She reached back to the table, grabbing the carton and piercing its foil with the straw.

                “Told you,” Chloe said smugly as she sat up next to Marinette. The sun was just peeking through her skylight, and it highlighted the girl’s body perfectly, delicate beams of sunlight accentuating her every curve and making her golden hair positively glow.

                “Wow…”

                “Hmm? No witty comeback?”

                “Not today. Today, I’m just… enjoying the moment,” Marinette replied, shifting in her bed a little. “Good company and a wonderful view,” she added with a smirk. Chloe blushed brightly, sliding back down into the bed, hissing the girl’s name. Marinette couldn’t help but giggle, leaning forward to lie next to her, head nuzzling against the girl’s forehead. “A perfect moment with my ‘Something Else’” she said, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.


End file.
